The value of AVAX, the native cryptocurrency of the Avalanche blockchain, surged after a newly established firm revealed its intention to go public in the US and acquire over $1 billion of the token.
The firm, Avalanche Treasury Co., announced on Wednesday its merger with the special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Mountain Lake Acquisition Corp. in a deal exceeding $675 million.
The combined entity anticipates a listing on the Nasdaq in the first quarter of 2026 under the ticker “AVAT,” pending regulatory and shareholder consent.
Emin Gün Sirer, the founder and CEO of the Avalanche blockchain development firm Ava Labs, will serve as an advisor to the company.
This will be the second treasury firm focused on Avalanche, joining a wave of companies either going public or shifting towards acquiring and holding cryptocurrencies this year.
Avalanche Treasury Co. targets $1 billion in AVAX holdings
Avalanche Treasury Co. stated it has an “exclusive relationship” with the Avalanche Foundation, which reportedly planned to sell millions of Avalanche (AVAX) tokens at reduced rates to treasury firms.
The treasury company aims to possess over $1 billion in AVAX after its public launch next year, with its initial capital raise expecting “approximately $460 million in treasury assets funded.”
Following the announcement, AVAX reached an intraday high of $31.32. Although it has since stabilized, it shows a 2.3% increase in the last 24 hours, according to CoinGecko.
The merger has received backing from crypto-focused venture firms and companies, including Dragonfly, VanEck, FalconX, Monarq, Galaxy Digital, Pantera Capital, CoinFund, and Kraken.
Bart Smith, the former CEO of prominent crypto market maker Susquehanna Crypto, has been appointed CEO of Avalanche Treasury Co.
Avalanche Treasury Co. plans active blockchain participation
The company announced plans to engage in various activities for revenue generation that go “beyond passive accumulation,” also intending to actively participate on the Avalanche blockchain.
It will allocate funds through “targeted protocol investments,” assist businesses in tokenizing real-world assets and stablecoins, and build its own validator infrastructure.
“Many institutions struggle to access digital assets or are limited to holding native tokens without yield or ecosystem integration,” Smith stated. “We established Avalanche Treasury Co. to provide something we believe will offer more value than simple exposure.”
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The firm aligns with companies like AgriFORCE Growing Systems, which revealed on Sept. 22 its intention to rebrand as AVAX One and acquire $700 million in AVAX.
Company aims to provide “discount” on tokens
Avalanche Treasury Co. mentioned it plans to kick off “with an initial AVAX token purchase at a discount to market price and an 18-month priority on Avalanche Foundation sales to US digital asset treasury firms.”
The company is targeting a multiple of net asset value (mNAV) of 0.77, which it claims represents a “23% discount compared to purchasing AVAX directly.”
However, analysts from NYDIG recently suggested that the mNAV metric could be misleading, as it doesn’t accurately reflect a company’s financial standing.
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